Emergency closing means for boiler nonreturn valves



Feb. 7,

P. w. KNAUF Filed Deo. 11, 1925 EMERGENCY CLOSING MEANS FOR BOILER NONRETURN VALVES lil Patented Feb.` 7, 1,928.

uNrrllDv STATES: 1 1 .1,r.1\1TfA ortica PAUL W. KNAUF, or oYNWYn, rENnsYLvAN`IAassIGNonfro soHUT'rE AND marinT Tine COMPANY, or PHILADELPHIA, PnnNsr'LvAmA, CORPORATION or `PENN- SYLVANIA.

EMERGENCY roLosIive MEANS non BoILER NoNRErUnN VALVES.

" applicati-roamed December 11, 19231 serial 110.679.902.

In its broader aspectmy invention relates to emergency non-return stop valves-for boilers, but more speci'ically it relates to a novel construction of means for etect-ing the closing of such valves in the eventbt' an emergency rendering'a quick closing of the same necessary.

The general object oiI provide a novel'A construction. ot means whereby the pressure ot steam .from the boiler drum of any one ot two or more boilers ot a system or from any other; suitable source may be caused to actuate a member to close the non-return stop valve. f

A further object kol the invention is to provide means whereby the non-return stop valve is relieved of the pressure of the closing means wherebythe steam in passing from a boiler to a main or head pipe need overcome only the weight of such non-return stop valve and parts connected thereto vand rigid therewith. n K' A still further object ot the invention is to provide means whereby the non-return stop valve closing;` means may `befpermitted to move downwardly for the purpose otclosing the said non-return stop valve independently or" mechanical means which maybe.

employed for causing downward movement otthe said closing .means to effect closing of the said stop valve and to hold the same in closed position.

I shall not at this point undertake .tov

point out the many other advantages incident to my invention.. but will proceed with a detailed description thereof7 making reference .in such description to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated one convenient form of mechanical embodiment ot `the invention.

It will be understood7 however. that ythe invention Vis susceptible ot vembodiment in .other forms oi" construction than that shown and that changes in the details ot construey tion may be made withinv the scope of the claims without departing from the same.

In the drawing:

'Fim 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional b e, view of a boiler non-return stop valve and. means embodyingl my invention for closingN the same.; 1

Fig. 2 is a View taken on the line 2-2 o't'fliig. 1; and

a is :fragmentary sectional elemthe invention is to tional'view showing adetail ot' construction.

f Referring to the drawing :11 designates a valve body or casing, 2-an inlet port,` and 3 an outlet port. The inlet port is provided with a valve seat ring 4 upon which avalve 5 vis adapted to be seated. The valve is shown 'in the drawing in seated position, but it will vbe vnoted that in operation, when steam. is'flowing forward throughthe valve structure as indicated bythe arrows v6 and '7, the valve 5is lifted from its seat by the pressure of the steam l-upon the under slide thereof. y l l The valve is provided with" a valvefstem 10 A"which extends kuliiwardly through a? guide opening 11 `in the lower end of a reduced,

downwardly projecting portion'of a'cylinder .12. The said cylinder is secured in and pro- ]ects .inwardly from an opening 13, in the upper side of the valve casing or bodyl, into the said casing. .The valve stem 10 is pro-y ided atv itsv upper endr with a piston 14 which is situated and operates in the.r cylinder 12. The said piston is retained or Secured stem by means of a retaining piston is equalized or is the same.

Acylinder 25, the lower end of which 'is closed.` bya bottom wall 27, is situated above the valve body 1 and isfprovided with laterally and outwardlyextending flange 26' which rests upon the upper edge of the portion of the valve body which surrounds the'k said opening 13. vThe upper end of thefxcylinder 25 isv provided with a cover'29. The

saidcover rests upon .theupper end` ofthe cylinder and is of a diameter greater than that ofthe exteriordiameter of said cylinder inder. Theseedg'es are provided atintervals with holes,y twooff'which `only are shown. through whichbolts BOeXtend. .The said bolts lfalso extend through corresponding holes in a flange 31which extends laterallyl from the upper` portion o1k the valvebody 1C Nuts 32 upon, the Opposite ends of these so tha-tits edges projectbeyond thesaidcyl`r l bolts operate to clamp and hold the cover 29 upon the top oit the cylinder and also operate to clamp and hold the cylinder 25 with its cove* 29 to the valve body l.

The bottom wall 27 olf they c vliiuller 25 is provided with a central opening 35 througt which a. valve controlling and closing rod il? extends. The said rod is surrounded by packing 38 within the opening 35 which packing is adapted to be held in place by means ot .a gland 39 which in turn is secured to the bottom wall 26 by means ot screws 40,

The valve control rod 37 'is providedwith a piston 45 which tits and operates in the cylinder 25.

' The top cover :'29 ot the cylinder iiirovided with an opening which is surrounded by an extended tubular guiding sleeve elfo. rlhe valve control 3T extends upvardly through the said central opening and through the sleeve -fl and terminates a distance above the top ot the latter. The said rod is surrounded by packing ll'sitrr ated within the upper portion ot the guide sleeve etti, which packing is held in place by a gland 48 which in turn is adapted to be held in place and pressed downwardly by means of an annular holding member -l-,Q having outwardly extending notched lugs 50. The guide sleeve 46 is provided adjacent its upper end with lugs or projections 5l to which bolts 52 are hinged. rlhese bolt-s are adapted to be turned upwardly and seated in the notches in the projections 50. This having been done, the nuts 53 are Vtightened so as to clamp the annular holding member t9 downwardly upon the upper end ot the'- .gland d8 to press the lower end ot the. saine against the packing lll'.

Steam is admitted t-o the cylinder Qaabove the piston l5 through a pipe GO which enters the said cylinder through the cover Q9. rl`he steam is supplied through the pip y ('50 from any suitable source, as trom the drum of the boiler.` For` the purpose ot preventing reverse flow ot' steam at any time through the pipe GO trom the cylinder a check valve is provided at 6l. Steam which entersthe cylinder through the pipe G0 flows through an 'opening G2 through the piston #l5 so that the pressure, in the normal operation of the device, on opposite sides ot' the said piston is equalized or the saine. lt may be no-ted also that some steam islikely to escape -lirom the cylinder l2 through the opening` around the valve control rod 23T; The entry ot such steainf however, does not disturb the equilibrium ot the pressure of the steam upon opposite sides ot the piston 45.

When the system of boilers isin operation steam flows trom one ot them through the inlet port Q and the outlet.v port 3 of the structure shown, it being understood that a likestructure is .interposed in the steam supply line from each boiler ot the system. In so doing the valve 5 is raised from its seat upon the valve seat ring Ll. The height to which said valve is elevated will depend noon the energy or torce ot the Current ot steam and it may he sulh'eient to cause the stop shoulder (i5 at the lower end ot the valve stein l() to contact with the lower end ot the reduced portion ot the cylinder l2.

As already indicated, pressure ot the steam upon opposite sides ot the piston lo is the same. However7 the total pressure ot steam tending to cause upward movement of the rod 3T and the pist-cn el is that exerted upon the under .side oi said piston plus that exerted upon the lower end or said rod which is exposed to the strain within the cyl inder l2. [t will be apparent that in view ot the tact that the upper end portion of the valve operating and controlling rod 37 extends through the cover 29 and the tubular sleeve 46 and is exposed to the atmosphere, the eti' yctive pressure ot the steam operating upon the upper outer side ot the piston to torce the saine downwardly is less than the total pressure ot steam tending to torce or move the rod and piston do upwardly by the amount obtained by multiplying` the cross sectional area ot' the rod 57 within the cylinder by the pressure per unit area of the steam within said cylinder. It will be apparent, therefore, that the resultant pressure otl the steam upon their-od 37 and piston 45 operates to hold the same in its uppermost position with the inclined or beveled shoulder 'TO thereon in contact with the beveled suriaee 7l surrounding the lower edge ot' the central opening through the cover 29.

ln case of an accident to the steam line intermediate the non-return valve structure and the head line pipe or other destination iior the steam or from some other cause, it.

may become necessary to etiect a quick closing of the`valve 5. To etl'ect such closing the steam is permit-ted to escape or released trom the portion oi" the cylinder 25 underneath or inwardly ot the piston l-. The escape ot such steam takes place through a release pipe T2 controlled in any suitable manner. as by a valve at T3, which may be operated by means oit a. handle Tl. lt will be understood that any .suitable means may he employed :tor quickly opening the pipe 72: tor releasing the steam trom the cylinder 25 underneath the piston AVAl5. When the steam is thus released the pressure ot the steamv above the piston d5 upon the latter causes quick and sudden movement ot the said piston with the valve control rod 37 downwardly. ",l'he lower end ot the said rod contacts with the upper end ot' the valve stein lO and causes movement of the same together with the valve 5 downwardly until rtlc latter is seated upon the valve 'ring et,

Sil

lil?? The cross sectional area of the piston 45 minus the cross sectional area-"ot the portion of the rod 37 within the cylinder'25 above the said piston is greater than the area of. the opening through the ring 4, in consequenceof which the pressure ot the steam upon the.;,upper side of the piston 45 upon the release oi steam from the cylinder 25 underi'ieath the said piston is sutiicient to force Athe valve downwardly against the `pressure oi steam underneath the said valve. It may be noted here that rthe pressure ot steam within the port Qand within the cylinder above the piston 45 at such time the same.

In addition to the emergency means for closing the valve 5 in case of necessity, I have also provided means for closing the same which may be operated manually, as illustrated, or in any other manner which may be suitable.

'Ihe cover 29 and the tubular sleeve 46 are provided with oppositely disposed brackets to which the lower ends of two couples of links 8l are pivotally connected. The upper ends of these links are connected to trunnions 82 which project outwardly in opposite directions from nuts 83 which are mounted yupon the right and left hand `screw threaded end portionsoi the shaft 84 which is adapted to be rotatedby means of a hand wheel 85 or by any other preferred means. The upper ends of toggle lever links 86 are also connected to the trunnions 82 while the lower ends thereofy are connected toy the opposite ends of pivot bolts S7 which are secured to the opposite ends ot a cross-head member 88. Said member has slidable engagement with the upper reduced end portion 9G ot the valve operating and cont-roh ling rod 37. The valve operating and controlling rod 3T is provided with a shoulder 92 at the lower end of the reduced upper end `portion with which the lower side oi the cross-head 88 is adapted to contact.

As yalready stated, the reduced upper end portion 90 ot' the rod 37 has slidableconnection with the. `cross-head 88. It is apparent, therefore. that in the case ot an emergency and when the release pipe 72has been opened to permit the release of steam from underneath the piston 45 the rod 37 is permitted to move freely downwardly under the iniiuence oit the steam pressure in the cylinder 25. above the piston 45, the shoulder 92 at such time moving downwardly from the under side of the .cross-head 88 to the position as indicated in dotted lines. In moving downwardly 4the said rod 37 contactswith the upper end of the stem l0, also` as indicated in dotted lines, and forces tl e same downwardly to close the valve 5 as Shown.

It will he apparent also that upon rotation .et the' shaft ,84: a direction t@ C fuisek inward movementotl the upper ends ot links 8l and '86 toward each other, or toward a vertical position the lower rends et' thelinks 86 move downwardly. Such ydov-.inward movement causeethe` lower side oiC the crosshead 88 to contact with thefshoulder'Q! and force the valve operating and-`controlling rod fdownwardly and hold the same in depressed position with the valve 5 eitherin closed or `in vany intermediate position as may be desired. The principal purpose, however, of the closing means comprising the links k8l and 86 is to depress and hold the valve 5 in closed position. `This may be desirable Vin'order that steam maybe shut otll from theoutlet portion of the structure for the purpose of facilitating repair, as for instance, repairs to piping on the outlet side of the valve.

For covering and protecting the shaft S4 and the nuts 83 thereon I have provided a,` cover plate 93, as shown. i y

It will he seen that 'by my invention I have rprovided means whereby the lnon-return stop valve 'may be quickly olosedas in the vcase of an emergency requiring and de-j mandingl quick closure; and also that I haveA provided means whereby the valve may he closed and heldV )firmly and positively in` closed position in `case such closingfshould beide'sired vor 'necessary..y

Having thus described my invention, what I `claim and desire to secure' by'Lettei-s 'Patent is: Y l

l. In combination, a casing, ya non-return stop valvein said casing, meansadapted to be actuated by ksteam pressure towardfsaid valve to close the same", the lsaid meansbeing situated and adapted to move in 'axial aline ment with said valve, and meansadapted to permit steam pressure to lbe applied tosaid` first named mea-ns to .cause'movemen't thereof in the opposite direction to'pern'iit open adaptedto .be actuated bythe operation ot steam pressure for causing longitudinal movement thereof towardy the said valve rfor effecting closing movement ot' the latter.

3.1In combination, a valve Icasing struc ture, a non-return valve situated in the said casing and having a stem extending in' and transversely of the said casing, a valve' opery ating andL controlling rod slidablysupported in alinement with the aXes of the said valve A and valvestem, the said-rodprojecting from the interior of the said casing structure to the atmosphere, and means whereby the Said sition out of contact with said valve, and

means whereby the said rod is adapted to be actuated by the operation of the steam pressur'e for causing movement thereof toward the said valve for closing the latter;

In combination, a valve casingstruc.

tureq a boiler non-return valve situated in said casing, the said valve having a stem jn'ojecting inwardly of said casing, a hollow cylinder situated within the said casing and having an opening in its lower end through which the said stem projects and by which it is guided, a valve operating and controlling rod supported in operative relation to the said valve stem and projecting into the said cylinder, means whereby the pressure of the steam operates to hold the said rod normally in elevated position, and means whereby the said steam pressure is adapted to cause descending movement of the said rod to eEect closing movement of the said valve.

6. In combination, a valve casing, a boilery non-return valve situated in said casing, said valve being provided with a stem which eX- tends inwardly of the said casing, a cylinder situated in said casing and :projecting inwardly thereof toward ther said valve, the inner end thereof being provided with an opening through which the said stem extends and by which it is guided, a cylinder situated above and secured to the said valve casing, which cylinder is provided with a closed bottom which constitutes a closure for the first named cylinder, a cover for the said second named cylinder, the bottom and cover of said second named cylinder being provided with axially alined openings, a valve operating` and controlling rod slidably mounted in said openings. a piston situated in the second named cylinder which is connected with the said rod, the pressure ofsteam upon the end of said rod"within the [irst named cylinder being adapted to retain the said rod normally in elevated position, and. meansI for releasing the said steam from the portion ol 'the second named cylinder inwardly of said piston whereby the pressure of the steam upon the opposite outer side thereof causes movement thereof to eiiect closure of the said valve.

7.1n an emergency closing means for boiler non-return valves, the combination of valve casing provided with an opening, a hollow cylinder secured to said easing, said cylinder having a bottom which is adapted to close said opening, cover for the said cylinder, the said bottom and cover having alined openings therein, a valve operating' and controlling rod mounted in said openings, the upper end of said rod projecting from the cylinder and being exposed to the atmosphere, mea-ns for supplying steam to the said cylinder, means \vhereb \-the pressure of said steam operates to hold the said rod in outward position, and means for releasing the steam pressure from a portion of the said cylinder whereby the pressure of the steam inthe remaining portion thereof operates to cause inward n'iovement of the said rod', for the purpose described.

8. In an emergency closing means for boiler non-return valves, the combination of a valve casing, a valve for closing an inl-et opening of said casing, the said casing being provided with an opening in opposed relation to the said inlet opening, a cylinder situated exterierly of and being secured to said casing, said cylinder havingl a bottom which closes the said second named opening, a cover for the said cylinder, said bottom and cover being provided with alined openings, a` valve operating and controlling rod slidably mounted in said openings, the inner end of the said rod projecting into said casing and the steam pressure upon said end operating to hold the said rod in its extreme outward position, a piston mounted in said `cylinder and secured to said rod, means for admitting steam to the said cylinder, and means for releasing the pressure of the steam from the portion of the cylinder inwardlyv of the said piston whereby the steam upon the opposite side thereof operates to cau'se inward move-ment of the said rod to effect closure of the said valve.

9.111' an emergency closing means for boiler non-return valves, the combination of a valve casing having' an inlet port, a nonreturn valve for controlling the passage of steam through said port, a valve operating and controlling rod projecting into said casing, the outer end portion of the said rod being reduced, the inner end of said reduced portion terminating in a shoulder, a member having an opening` through which the said reduced portion extends, the said member being adapted to Contact with the said shoulder', means for actuating the said member to force the same inwardly against the said shoulder to cause inward ,movement of the said rod to close the said valve and hold the same in closed position, an emergeucy means for causing inward movement of the said rod indepeiidently of said mem ber, the said emergency means comprising a cylinder, a piston within the said cylinder which is secured to the said rod, means for supplying steam under pressure to the said cylinder, and means for releasing the steam from. `the portion of Said-cylinder llfi underneath the said piston whereby the pressure of steani upon the top oi! said piston causes inward .movement of the said rod to carry the said shoulder away from the said nieinber and to ellect closing of the said valve.

l0. In an emergency closing ineans for boiler non-return valves, the combination of a valve casing having an inlet port, a valve structure for controlling the passage of steani through said port, a hollow cylinder secured to the valve casing in alinenieiit with the said port, both ends of said cylinder being closed, the closures of said ends having central openings therethrough, a valve operating and Controlling rod v extending through said openings and closing theI saine, one end ot which projects into the said valve easingand the other end of which projects outwardly and is exposed to the atmosphere, means tor supplying steain to said cylinder7 a piston situated within the said cylinder and having rigid connection with the said control rod, said piston having an opening therethrough whereby the steain occupies the portions of said cylinder above and below the piston, and means for releasing the steain from the portion of said cylinder below the said piston, the transverse area of the said piston iniiius the area of the portion of said rod in the said cylinder above the said piston being greater than the area. of the inlet opening controlled by the said valve, where# byy upon releasing 'the steain troni undern neatli the said piston the said control rod is forced doiifnwardly by steam pressure and contacts with a portion of the said valve structure to eli'eot closing of the saine.

In testimony that I claiin the foregoing as niy invention, I have hereunto signed ii'iy name thisrd day of :December7 A. D., 1923.

- PAUL IV. KNAUF. 

